Report: Padres shopping catcher Norris
Everything must go at Petco Park.
The San Diego Padres are reportedly shopping yet another piece around to contenders in catcher Derek Norris, major-league sources told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
It's not clear what teams, if any, have interest in the 27-year-old, but several clubs, including the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, have pressing needs behind the plate. Norris would likely fall behind All-Star Jonathan Lucroy in the pecking order of available catchers, though some clubs could potentially see Norris - a former All-Star himself - as a viable fallback option should they miss out on the Milwaukee Brewers backstop.
Norris has been known as an offense-first catcher during his five-year career, but his numbers have taken a hit since he joined the Padres ahead of the 2015 campaign. The 27-year-old owns a career-worst .204/.263/.379 line this season, though he's slugged 12 homers, just two shy of his career-high 14 set last year. His defense has also improved, as evidenced by his 6.7 dWAR accumulated this season, along with a career-best eight defensive runs saved.
Besides Norris, San Diego is also pushing hard to trade outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. and right-hander Andrew Cashner.